Omaha daily bee., 1887-06-21
AN IRISH FISHING STORY.
What the Baroness Burdett.C COut is
Has AcCOmplisned,

Nhat the baroness Buruett.COuttS
Has Accomplished.
New York Tribune: The Baroness
Burdett-Coutts has added another item
te the long catalogue of her good deeds.
She has placed a large sum of money
within the reach OF the fisherman of
Donegal, on the northeast coast of Ire
land. Ii is in the hands of local trustees,
headed by Roman Catholic priest, who
will distribute 1t to the fisherman in such
sums as they may need to procure boats
and nets and other requirements. No
usury will be demanded, but the money
will be repaid to the trustees in easy in
stallments, and by them returned to the
Baroness BurdettCoutts when its mis-
sion of aid is ended. Thus it is not an
aims, given as to paupers, but that most
useful Of all benetactlOns, help to self
helpfulness. 1t will enable many men
now destitute to engage in profitable
tribute to the establishment of industrial
prosperity throughout large portion of
the island.
AS the chief agent of the Baroness Bur
dett-Coutts in this work is a Roman Cath
Olic priest ii is interesting to recall that
the pioneer of modern Irish fishermen
was clergyman of the Established PRO
testant) church. Nearly generation has
now passed since Rev. Mr.. Sing. of
County Wicklow, at his own expense,
labor, and peril, introduced trawl- fishing
at the Isles of Arran in Galway bay. UP
to that time the waters of the Irish coast
had been prottably tished by almost
everyone bun the Irish themselves. The
fishermen of England, Scotland, and
Wales had amassed fortunes there, and
even some France and the low countries
were glad to pay for the privilege OF cast
ing nets in those teemlng seas. But the
Irish, unable to procure seagoing boats
and nets, could only fish along shore and
from their wretched skiils. with hook and
line. Mr. Sing determined TO bring about
a change. SO he bought a large yacht,
the Georgiana, equipped her with nets
and other appliances for trawl-tishing,
manned her with Il stout crew, and began
operations at the Isles of Arran. The
hooks and lines, did not take kindly
to this innovation. They even made
an attack IN force, intending to kill
the captain and crew and destroy
the yacht. In this they were happily de.
feated by breeze which just IN the nick
of time sprang up and bore the yacht be.
yond their reach. Mr.. Sing persevered.
He caught fish in abundance, shipped it
by rail to Dublin, and thence to Liver
pool, where he found ready market and
thus established a handsomely paying in-
dustry.
TO follow this example has of course
been impossible to the average Irish fish
erman, simply through lack of means to
procure the needed outfit. Now and then
it has bean proposed that the British gov
ernment should advance the funds in the
form of loans. But English apathy to
ward Irish interests, and the rival inter
ests of English fishermen, have served to
defeat such projects. Private benefac-
tions have done something. however. A
few years ago the Baroness Burdett-
Coutts aided the fishermen of the Cork
coast in way like that described above.
The result has been the building of val
liable Irish fishing fleet at Baltimore, and
not single default in repaying the loans.
There is every reason therefore to hope
that her similar venture in behalf of the
Donegal fisherman will be crowned with
similar success.